Release CalendarTop 250 MoviesMost Popular MoviesBrowse Movies by GenreTop Box OfficeShowtimes & TicketsMovie NewsIndia Movie Spotlight
    What's on TV & StreamingTop 250 TV ShowsMost Popular TV ShowsBrowse TV Shows by GenreTV News
    What to WatchLatest TrailersIMDb OriginalsIMDb PicksIMDb Podcasts
    OscarsABFFPride MonthOutfest OutfrontsSTARmeter AwardsAwards CentralFestival CentralAll Events
    Born TodayMost Popular CelebsMost Popular CelebsCelebrity News
    Help CenterContributor ZonePolls
For Industry Professionals
  • All
  • Titles
  • TV Episodes
  • Celebs
  • Companies
  • Keywords
  • Advanced Search
Watchlist
Sign In
Sign In
New Customer? Create account
  • Fully supported
  • English (United States)
    Partially supported
  • Français (Canada)
  • Français (France)
  • Deutsch (Deutschland)
  • हिंदी (भारत)
  • Italiano (Italia)
  • Português (Brasil)
  • Español (España)
  • Español (México)
  • Cast & crew
  • User reviews
  • Trivia
IMDbPro

Secret Ballot

Original title: Raye makhfi
  • 2001
  • G
  • 2h 3m
IMDb RATING
6.7/10
1.3K
YOUR RATING
Babak Payami and Nassim Abdi in Secret Ballot (2001)
Home Video Trailer from Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
Play trailer1:37
1 Video
25 Photos
ComedyDrama

A female election agent and a gun-toting soldier try to collect votes among the local islanders with mixed success.A female election agent and a gun-toting soldier try to collect votes among the local islanders with mixed success.A female election agent and a gun-toting soldier try to collect votes among the local islanders with mixed success.

  • Director
    • Babak Payami
  • Writers
    • Mohsen Makhmalbaf
    • Babak Payami
  • Stars
    • Nassim Abdi
    • Cyrus Abidi
    • Youssef Habashi
  • See production, box office & company info
  • IMDb RATING
    6.7/10
    1.3K
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • Babak Payami
    • Writers
      • Mohsen Makhmalbaf
      • Babak Payami
    • Stars
      • Nassim Abdi
      • Cyrus Abidi
      • Youssef Habashi
    • 25User reviews
    • 48Critic reviews
    • 75Metascore
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Awards
      • 10 wins & 5 nominations

    Videos1

    Secret Ballot
    Trailer 1:37
    Watch Secret Ballot

    Photos25

    Nassim Abdi in Secret Ballot (2001)
    Nassim Abdi in Secret Ballot (2001)
    Cyrus Abidi in Secret Ballot (2001)
    Babak Payami in Secret Ballot (2001)
    Secret Ballot (2001)
    Secret Ballot (2001)
    Secret Ballot (2001)
    Secret Ballot (2001)
    Secret Ballot (2001)
    Secret Ballot (2001)
    Secret Ballot (2001)
    Secret Ballot (2001)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Nassim Abdi
    Nassim Abdi
    • Girl
    Cyrus Abidi
    Cyrus Abidi
    • Soldier
    Youssef Habashi
    Farrokh Shoja
    Gholbahar Janghali
    • Director
      • Babak Payami
    • Writers
      • Mohsen Makhmalbaf
      • Babak Payami
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    More like this

    The Day I Became a Woman
    7.3
    The Day I Became a Woman
    Buddha Collapsed Out of Shame
    7.2
    Buddha Collapsed Out of Shame
    La Vie En Rose
    7.6
    La Vie En Rose
    The Red Circle
    7.9
    The Red Circle
    Amour
    7.9
    Amour
    Parviz
    7.1
    Parviz
    A Serious Man
    7.0
    A Serious Man
    The Blackboard
    6.8
    The Blackboard
    Bab'Aziz: The Prince That Contemplated His Soul
    7.5
    Bab'Aziz: The Prince That Contemplated His Soul
    Tales
    7.0
    Tales
    A Moment of Innocence
    7.8
    A Moment of Innocence
    Turtles Can Fly
    8.0
    Turtles Can Fly

    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Ra'ye makhfi was filmed entirely in Kish Island, a resort island in the Persian Gulf although it is not mentioned in the movie.

    User reviews25

    Review
    Review
    Featured review
    7/10
    appealing Iranian film
    I liked Secret ballot. It's similar to most Iranian films (even though it was written/directed by an Iranian/Canadian from Toronto) as it takes this wildly simplistic idea and then forms a story around it.

    Secret Ballot is about a lot of things: the chaotic election process in Iran, the women/men relationships there, the isolation of rural areas and the role of women in Iranian society. That's four, you could probably find more if you wanted. A woman college age shows up at an outpost remote from cities and people and takes a sloth like soldier along looking for people willing to vote. It's harder to find voters than she thinks it might be as a lot of folks just don't want anything to do w/ the woman or casting a vote for the democracy that she touts ceaselessly. Secret Ballot has a good deal of sly, quiet moments and its this intelligent astuteness that I liked the most about it. I also enjoyed the harsh, remote terrain the film is set. The entire cast is full of non-pros who have never acted before and they do a fine job and are natural throughout. I especially liked the soldier who seems almost catatonic he's so slow talking. This is a very typical Iranian film: simple, slowish, extremely long and drawn out takes and full of non actors and real people. Plus it's a sly satire that has its own charms.
    helpful•12
    1
    • CineRobot
    • Jul 12, 2002

    Top picks

    Sign in to rate and Watchlist for personalized recommendations
    Sign in

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • October 26, 2001 (Italy)
    • Countries of origin
      • Iran
      • Italy
      • Canada
      • Switzerland
    • Official site
      • sourehcinema
    • Language
      • Persian
    • Also known as
      • Void Votes
    • Filming locations
      • Kish Island, Iran
    • Production companies
      • Payam Films
      • Fabrica
      • Sharmshir
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Gross US & Canada
      • $114,909
    • Opening weekend US & Canada
      • $14,609
      • Aug 11, 2002
    • Gross worldwide
      • $122,875
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      2 hours 3 minutes
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • Dolby Digital
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.85 : 1

    Related news

    Contribute to this page

    Suggest an edit or add missing content
    Babak Payami and Nassim Abdi in Secret Ballot (2001)
    Top Gap
    By what name was Secret Ballot (2001) officially released in Canada in English?
    Answer
    • See more gaps
    • Learn more about contributing
    Edit page

    More to explore

    Recently viewed

    Please enable browser cookies to use this feature. Learn more.
    Get the IMDb App
    Sign in for more accessSign in for more access
    • Get the IMDb App
    • Help
    • Site Index
    • IMDbPro
    • Box Office Mojo
    • IMDb Developer
    • Press Room
    • Advertising
    • Jobs
    • Conditions of Use
    • Privacy Policy
    • Your Ads Privacy Choices
    IMDb, an Amazon company

    © 1990-2023 by IMDb.com, Inc.